Overwhelmed by the sense of danger, Orochimaru made his decision in an instant.
The tip of the Kusanagi Blade in Orochimaru's hand shot forward like a viper's tongue, striking straight at Uchiha Keizumi!
[Hiss—!]
The sword became a silver-white flash tearing through the air, moving faster than sight could track, piercing unhindered through the freshly reformed chest of Uchiha Keizumi.
Once again, magma flowed. Once again, it caused no real harm.
But this was only a feint.
Orochimaru's hands had already finished forming a dazzlingly complex sequence of seals before his chest, his expression grim and tense.
Without warning, the ground beneath Uchiha Keizumi's feet began to quake and bulge violently!
With a thunderous roar and flying shards of soil and rock, a monstrous serpent maw—large enough to swallow a house whole—burst out of the earth, lined with rows of jagged fangs!
A reeking gust swept out as viscous drool splattered onto the ground, sizzling and hissing as it corroded the soil.
The giant snake snapped its jaws shut with lightning speed, swallowing Uchiha Keizumi along with a huge mass of dirt and shattered rock in one gulp.
Its belly bulged visibly; from within came a chilling gurgling sound—the furious secretion of highly corrosive stomach acid trying to dissolve its terrifying prey.
Yet the digestion lasted less than a second.
[Boom!!!]
A violent surge of magma erupted from the center of the serpent's swollen abdomen—fiery red lava burst through the tough snake skin like a volcanic explosion, blasting the massive summoning serpent into countless burning fragments.
Amid the scattering flames and thick smoke, Uchiha Keizumi's figure stood once more, completely unscathed.
His eyes, cold as eternal ice, pierced through the swirling haze of smoke and torn flesh, locking squarely onto Orochimaru.
The killing intent in that gaze—
—had already become tangible.
Orochimaru, almost by instinct, jerked his head aside, not daring to meet those eyes for even a heartbeat.
He gripped the Kusanagi Blade.
The sword tip trembled faintly.
As Uchiha Keizumi's footsteps—heavy, dripping with magma, radiating suffocating pressure—closed in step by step, Orochimaru could only retreat, step by step, backward.
Each step sank into the mud mixed with the blood of his summoning beast.
"Tch!"
Sensing that the situation had turned dire, Orochimaru abruptly pulled several specially made scrolls from within his robes and hurled them forcefully forward.
The scrolls unfurled in midair with a sharp fluttering sound.
Orochimaru clapped his hands together with a violent smack.
[Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!]
Five great bursts of white smoke flashed—and out of thin air appeared five hideously shaped missiles gleaming with cold metallic luster, their tails spewing blazing exhaust flames.
These were Orochimaru's personal experimental creations—technological weapons at the absolute cutting edge of the shinobi world.
They adjusted their trajectories slightly in midair, emitting a sharp locking tone.
Then, with a scream of death, they shot toward Uchiha Keizumi like arrows loosed from a bowstring.
[Rumble, rumble, rumble, rumble!!!]
A deafening chain of explosions swallowed the entire area in an instant. Blinding flames shot skyward as the violent shockwave swept out like a physical giant's hammer, uprooting trees in every direction.
The searing airwave, filled with shrapnel and soil, blasted outward like a storm.
Even Orochimaru, standing far away, had to raise his arm to shield his face, his body stumbling back several steps under the force of the blast.
Smoke and fire obscured all vision.
"Hehe… Uchiha Keizumi…"
Orochimaru was panting; his long hair hung in disarray, and his freshly regenerated clothes were torn to shreds, leaving him more disheveled than ever.
He stared toward the heart of the devastating explosion, his hoarse voice curling into a sinister laugh. "Did you think I was your only enemy? In the shadows of this shinobi world… there are countless others who covet your life! Can you withstand the hunt of the underworld? Akatsuki… they've set their sights on you!"
As he spat out his taunting words, he didn't hesitate—he bit down hard on his thumb.
Blood welled up instantly.
Orochimaru swiftly drew a summoning scroll from within his robes, unrolled it, and pressed his bloodied thumb into its center.
"Besides… you won't be keeping me here!"
He tossed the scroll into the air.
Clapped his hands together.
"Ninja Art: Reverse Summoning Technique!!!"
…
Meanwhile, deep within Ryūchi Cave, the massive purple serpent resting atop a colossal stone throne abruptly opened its cold, cruel vertical pupils.
A contract link spanning space itself was instantly established—it could feel Orochimaru calling out to it.
But not for assistance in battle.
Orochimaru was calling for help!
"Hisss… Orochimaru?"
Manda's deep, greedy voice pierced across space, rumbling like thunder inside Orochimaru's mind. "You want me to save your life? One hundred sacrifices won't be enough! To pull you over here… I want five hundred! And they must all be alive—under thirty years old! Miss a single one… and I'll swallow you whole!"
"…Truly… insatiable."
Orochimaru's eyelids twitched violently.
Five hundred strong, living human sacrifices—it would take him quite some time to gather that many.
After all, his subordinates had just been slaughtered by Uchiha Keizumi. He would have to do it himself.
"…Deal."
Orochimaru gritted his teeth as he answered in his mind.
…
Inside Ryūchi Cave, Manda let out a satisfied hiss. The massive serpent opened its jaws wide and bit down on its own thick tongue.
Serpent blood sprayed out like rain, splattering precisely onto the ground.
In moments, it traced a massive reverse summoning array.
The Ryūchi Cave summoning formation connected instantly to the summoning scroll in Orochimaru's distant hands.
But at that very moment—
[Whoosh—!]
A golden chain shot toward Orochimaru, whistling through the air with a piercing shriek.
His instincts screamed—danger at its peak!
But it was too late to dodge.
[Squelch!]
The golden chain pierced through Orochimaru's left shoulder as effortlessly as a hot knife through butter, the pain forcing a muffled grunt from his throat.
"This is…"
A chill crept up Orochimaru's spine.
"A sealing technique of the Uzumaki Clan?!"
He tried to sever his left shoulder with the Kusanagi Blade—but there was no time. He barely managed to raise his hand before a burst of white smoke swallowed his entire body.
When the smoke cleared, the spot was empty.
Orochimaru was gone—and so was the golden chain that had pierced his shoulder.
However, what Orochimaru did not know was that… on the other end of the golden chain, Uchiha Keizumi had vanished together with him—without a trace!
…
Ryūchi Cave. The air was thick and humid, heavy with the stench of millennia-old serpent shed and a faint natural miasma.
"Huff… hhhh…"
The cold air, mixed with the overpowering stench and poison, flooded into Orochimaru's heaving chest like icy water.
He was down on one knee atop the cold stone dais where Manda coiled, one hand clutching his still-bleeding left shoulder, the other braced against the slick, mucus-covered ground, gasping for breath without care for his appearance.
Cold sweat mixed with blood streamed down his paper-white face, dripping onto the slime-slick surface of the rock.
"Hehe… finally got rid of that justice-crazed lunatic…"
A wave of exhaustion from narrowly escaping death swept over his entire body; the nerves stretched to their limit at last relaxed slightly. He inhaled greedily—filthy though the air was, right now it meant safety.
"Heh…" A tired, twisted grin crept across his lips as he rasped to himself, "I showed too many of my cards today… next time I meet him, it won't be this 'easy.' Assuming, of course, he survives the Akatsuki's endless pursuit."
Orochimaru's so-called "ease" had come at the cost of two molts, enormous chakra consumption, countless clones and traps, and now the gaping wound through his shoulder.
Anyone else would already be dead!
"Orochimaru."
A deep, rumbling voice—thick with mockery and greed—crashed down from above like rolling thunder. "Tch, who would've thought even you could end up so pitiful, like a beaten dog crawling back to its den."
Manda's enormous purple head lowered slowly, its cold vertical pupils focusing on the tiny figure of Orochimaru like searchlights.
"Remember, those five hundred live sacrifices you promised—not one less. And they must—"
But before it could finish, Manda suddenly froze.
Its massive head stiffened, and its cold pupils narrowed into slits of danger.
Because an unfamiliar presence—carrying a heat so destructive it felt like a red-hot brand plunged into ice water—had forced its way into the range of its perception!
Its gaze instantly swept past Orochimaru, locking firmly onto a single point.
"Orochimaru!"
Manda's voice rose sharply, laced with fury and alarm. "Who did you bring here?! Who is that brat?! Why is he in Ryūchi Cave?!"
The thunderous question stabbed into Orochimaru's nerves like a needle.
And only then—
—did he realize it.
The stinging sulfuric odor that should've dissipated with the Reverse Summoning Technique hadn't faded at all; instead, it clung to his nose like a maggot to bone, lingering endlessly!
A chill shot up from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head. He jerked his gaze down to his throbbing left shoulder.
The golden chain piercing through it was still there!
And the other end of that chain seemed to extend toward…
He stared in disbelief at a single point.
In the shadow, a figure stood motionless like a demon risen from molten hell. Red magma flowed and dripped across his body; the searing heat steamed the surrounding humidity, making the air hiss.
The magma figure's cold eyes pierced the thin smoke.
They were fixed on Orochimaru!
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